


By Nature

by bladespark



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Holding Grudges, M/M, Reconciliation, The Eldritch Chthonics, kiss and make up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 01:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30081681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bladespark/pseuds/bladespark
Summary: War, by its very nature, tends to leave wounds. Achilles certainly bears the inner scars of old hurts. So when Ares visits the House of Hades, Achilles can't help but remember, and be angered by, all the ways that war has wounded him. Ares, though, is not one to back down from the anger of even the greatest of warriors.Fortunately Thanatos can manage both his sometimes-lovers, and perhaps even broker a true peace between them.
Relationships: Achilles/Ares (Hades Video Game), Achilles/Thanatos (Hades Video Game), Ares/Thanatos (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 23





	By Nature

**Author's Note:**

> A very small side-bit to my larger Eldritch Chthonics world. And my first non-explicit Hades story, lol! Don't get used to it.

Achilles stared into space, spear in hand, mind wandering, once again guarding nothing from nothing. The sound of an unfamiliar, heavy tread in the hall, though, made his eyes snap into focus. Who would be wearing sandals, down here?

Then Achilles saw who, and felt himself go rigid, a wave of white-hot anger washing over him.

Ares, the god of war, the one who was in certain ways responsible for all of Achilles’ pain, was walking past Hades’ desk, towards the west hall.

Achilles hadn’t even consciously decided to move, but next thing he knew he’d stepped forward, his spear blocking Ares’ path as the god headed past him, towards the servant’s quarters. “Halt.”

Ares narrowed his eyes, looking down at Achilles. “You have no right to bar my path, shade.”

“What are you doing here?” snapped Achilles.

“That is none of your business.” Ares shoved the spear aside.

Achilles snarled and shoved it right back, the shaft smacking Ares in the chest. He felt driven by the hot glow of anger in his gut, something that hadn’t happened in a near eternity. “Why. Are. You. Here?”

“I am an invited guest, shade.” Ares bared his teeth in a snarl of his own. “You do not have the authority to bar me merely because you have some unreasonable vendetta against me.”

“Unreasonable—!” Achilles found himself at a total loss for words.

“I did not put a spear in your hands,” growled Ares, rounding on Achilles to face him directly. “Indeed I do believe that you were quite capable of refusing battle when you so chose.” His teeth showed feral white, and Achilles flinched, but not from Ares’ look. “I also didn’t strap your armor to your lover, or throw you out the tent to rage after his death. You chose those things. That my domain contains your battle madness does not make me responsible for your ills. You knew what you were doing when you let me claim you. All that came of that lies on your shoulders, not mine.”

Achilles staggered back as if struck. He wanted to scream that Ares was wrong, that the war god was to blame, but he knew that it was all nothing more than the truth.

“Ares,” snapped a cold, flat voice, and both Achilles and Ares turned to see Thanatos standing just outside the door to the servant’s quarters. “That was uncalled for.”

“No, I don’t think it was, my Lord,” said Ares as he turned to Thanatos, his voice diamond hard. “I am tired—beyond tired—of being judged and blamed and held responsible for nothing more than _existing_ according to my own nature. He,” Ares waved a hand at Achilles, “doesn’t blame _you_ for his lover’s death. Why, then, does he—do all these mortals and half the gods also—blame _me_ for their wars? I inspire them to courage. I give them rage and madness when they seek it. I guide them to take joy in victory. I do not force them to fight!”

The was a long silence, Thanatos scowling but obviously not sure what to say, Ares glaring between Thanatos and Achilles. Achilles, feeling flushed and shamed, bent his head and broke the silence, saying, “Forgive me, Lord Ares. You are right.”

Ares gave him a long look.

Thanatos shook his head. “You two… Tch. Ares, please come to my room now. Achilles… I would like it if you came there also, when your shift is over.”

Achilles blinked at Thanatos in surprise. “Ah…”

Ares only nodded. “Yes, my Lord.”

Thanatos gave Achilles another look, but said nothing else, and a moment later he and Ares had both vanished back into the servants’ hall.

Achilles spent the rest of his guard shift replaying the conversation in his head and flinching repeatedly in guilt at his own foolish short-sightedness. That was a familiar occupation, but not a pleasant one. Reaching the end of his shift wasn’t a relief, though. He knew he could ignore Thanatos’ request. It hadn’t been given as an order, and their relationship wasn’t the sort where Thanatos _could_ give orders outside of one quite specific circumstance. Yet with a sigh Achilles admitted he couldn’t bring himself to ignore his sometimes-lover’s request.

So he stepped through the usual door, but instead of seeking out his own room, he continued down the hall to Thanatos’ chamber.

Achilles knocked tentatively on the door, and heard Thanatos call, “Come in.”

He entered, then immediately halted on the threshold, surprised by the scene that greeted him. Thanatos was stripped of his armor and regalia, wearing only a plain black chiton, without even his gauntlet or his hood. He sat on the edge of the bed, and his hand, the one of bare bones that he always kept covered, rested lightly on Ares’ head. The war god was also simply dressed, wearing only a tunic, rumpled where armor had formerly covered it. He looked softer, more human, without the sharp, hard edges of his armor and adornments. Even his laurels had been removed. His eyes were closed, his posture relaxed where he sat on the floor at Thanatos’ feet, head on the death god’s leg, and he didn’t so much as look up at Achilles’ entrance.

Thanatos cleared his throat pointedly, and Achilles flushed and stepped into the room, letting the door close behind him.

“My Lord Thanatos,” said Achilles, then stopped, not knowing what else to say.

“Come sit if you like, Achilles.” Thanatos gestured at a chair, sitting before a desk near the bed. “And please, relax. Neither Ares nor I are angry at you.”

“Ah… Thank you, my Lord Thanatos.” Achilles turned the chair towards Thanatos and sat in it.

“It’s very easy for we gods to forget what life is like for mortals,” said Thanatos gently, his hand beginning to stroke Ares’ hair. Ares made a little sound of agreement, but still didn’t open his eyes. It was surreal, almost uncomfortable, to see War himself like that.

“I know that most mortals experience death as something sad, or tragic, or even traumatic. Yet to me it’s not only my everyday job, it’s also who and what I am. To hear mortals be so fearful of me feels personal. And when other gods join in speaking against me…” Thanatos sighed. “It hurts. It is very easy to think only of that pain, and not of the pain of loss that mortals feel, when I take their loved ones away from them. War is…much the same, truly.”

Ares finally lifted his head and opened his eyes at that, his crimson gaze meeting Achilles’ without hesitation. “I owe you an apology,” he said.

Achilles blinked. “You spoke nothing more than the truth, Lord Ares.”

“Perhaps. Yet it was a truth I knew would wound you. It was dishonorable of me to use your past hurts against you, merely because my own past hurts made me quick to anger. Forgive me.”

“It was giving in to my anger that led me to bar your passage in the first place, so the fault is at least partly mine,” replied Achilles.

Thanatos chuckled. “I believe you mean to say ‘apology accepted’, Achilles.”

Achilles looked between the two of them, Thanatos smiling softly, Ares calmly serious. He found a small smile himself, suddenly. “The apology is not necessary, but accepted all the same. Thank you, Lord Ares.”

Ares smiled as well, then turned his gaze up to Thanatos. “Now that we have kissed and made up, my Lord, I hope you are satisfied?”

Thanatos laughed. “If you put it like that, my disciple, you will tempt me to make it literal.” He gave Ares a sly smile. “I would find the two of you together a pleasing sight, but I suspect that outcome is unlikely.”

Achilles felt his cheeks flush, and he shook his head. “Ah, no, my Lord Thanatos. I would very much prefer not.”

Ares only shrugged and put his head back on Thanatos’ leg, closing his eyes. Thanatos resumed stroking his hair.

Achilles rose. As he turned to go, though, he paused and, acting entirely on impulse, looked back. “Kissing is not on the table, Lord Ares, but how would you feel about sparring, some time? There aren’t many who can keep up with me besides Zagreus. It would be good, I think, to have a challenge.”

Ares’ eyes opened in surprise, and then he grinned. “I would like that very much.”

“Then perhaps on your next visit, Lord Ares.” Achilles gave a small bow, and then stepped out of the room. He used his glyph and took himself immediately to Patroclus, because after all that he definitely needed the security of his love’s embrace. And yet as he set foot on the grass of Elysium, he found himself already feeling better than he would have expected. Perhaps someday, shocking as the thought was now, he might even call Ares a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> If you'd like to see me talk about writing, my works in progress, other creative endeavors, and my life in general, check out [my Dreamwidth blog](https://bladespark.dreamwidth.org/) or my [twitter](https://twitter.com/bladespark). I also now run a [multiship, adults-only, kink-friendly Hades server](https://discord.gg/zSUcd9s5rt). Feel free to join!


End file.
